Christmas in Florida
Having successfully navigated our first year in Canada we decide to return to Florida for Christmas once again. The lure of warm sunny days and a little 'beach time' was too much to resist. With Mark and Hayley agreeing to fly out and join us it was an easy decision to make.
We rented a beach house on the east coast at New Smyrna Beach and from the moment we entered the place we knew it was the right choice.
We rented a beach house on the east coast at New Smyrna Beach and from the moment we entered the place we knew it was the right choice.
We wasted no time before hitting the beach and getting down to the sandcastle building/destroying cycle, the building done by the adults, the destroying by the innocent looking little man in the middle of the photo below.
On Christmas day we had a few presents for Ethan to open and a full 'proper' Christmas dinner with turkey and all the trimmings before heading out to the beach again.
Watching Mark trying to learn to skim board was just not enough, so all of us had a lash....with varying degrees of success until yet another fall left me hobbling off holding my back like a pensioner.
After a few days of beach life and resting around the place we drove the 1 hour journey back to Orlando to visit 'Gatorland'. Sarah and I had been here before and thought Ethan would like to see the alligators, we were not worng.
The day after our 'Gatorland' visit I was standing out on the decking as the tide turned and suddenly saw dolphins, loads of them heading along the coast, I ran back inside and grabbed the camera and managed a couple of reasonable shots before they were too far away. After this we saw them many more times as the tide turned from high to low.
We were soon back out on the beach with Mark demonstrating his artistic ability in creating this alligator for Ethan and much fun was had just running into and out of the waves on this lovely beach.
Mark and Ethan had a great time in the shallow water playing with the skim board, with Mark becoming quite proficient in it's use, the rest of us decided to stay off it this time.
Just a couple of miles north of our beach house was the main town of New Smyrna so one afternoon we loaded into the monster truck (on hire for the fortnight) and headed up there for a look around. As with many of the east coast towns in Florida, beach parking was available.
it is also permissible to drive along the beach for many miles in both directions which we did later in our holiday. For now we simply parked there and walked down the main street in the town doing a little of Sarahs' favourite pastime....shopping
In the blink of an eye another day has passed and we are awaking to the sound of the ocean again and Ethan is soon ready to run around on the beach once more.
Splashing about in the sea is something we get into almost every day, the water is warm and the air temperature in the low 70's daily. Though the locals seem to think we are crazy we are in the water every day we spend at the beach house.
Our next excursion was north to Daytona Beach, just 25 minutes drive from our place. Sarah and I had been here once before and knew we could explore the board walk and Pier as well as find an eatery or two. But first we had to stop at the Daytona shopping mall for a little retail therapy, once that was done we could carry on to the beach where once again parking on the beach is the norm.
I was nice to walk along the board walk and around the town a little, before returning along the firm sandy beach to the truck and heading back to the beach house for a beer on the decking as the sun went down.
Our next trip of note was a return to Orlando to visit sea world, we planned to do both this and Disney, the latter being saved for Ethans' birthday. Rather than drive there and back twice in two days we opted to drive there, visit sea world and then spend the night in a nice hotel before going to Disney. It was a good plan that was executed perfectly starting with a wonderful visit to Sea World.
Sarah and I had been here in 2009 and knew Ethan would love it and he really did, beginning with a photo of him and 'Shamu' the killer whale, a lovely start to a wonderful day.
Sarah and I had been here in 2009 and knew Ethan would love it and he really did, beginning with a photo of him and 'Shamu' the killer whale, a lovely start to a wonderful day.
After stopping off at the Dolphin nursery which Ethan loved we headed in to the first of three shows that we would see today, 'Clyde and Seymour Take Pirate Island' an incredible show that sees sword wielding otters, high diving seals and comedic pirates in and out of a large water tank and stage.
Next on the list was a show that left little Ethan mesmerised by trapeze artists, leaping dolphins (which are by far his favourite creature) high diving, and overhead parrots in free flight. A genuinely awesome display from a really well choreographed routine that sees a mix of human/animal interaction all set to dramatic music, well worth the entrance fee to the park alone.
There is a small jewellery store on the site where you can ask a diver to bring up a selection of oysters, you select one and it is opened in front of you to reveal your pearl, you then take it inside and have it set any way you want or alternatively just have it put in a little box. Mark had the diver get one for Hayley and we got to see the process in full.
After a bite to eat we went to the main attraction, the 'Shamu' show, Sarah and I really loved this the last time we were here and though the format has changed the show is still incredible, again worthy of the entrance fee alone. Ethan was truly in awe when the whale first leapt out of the water.
After the Shamu show we walked around the park taking in some more of the things to do, Mark and Hayley went on a huge roller coaster that dangles you upside down for almost the entirety of the journey. We fed the stingrays in a small pool and visited the many underground aquarium viewing areas, the favourite with Ethan was the dolphin viewing.
We ended a lovely day at Sea World with a visit to the upper section of the Manatee enclosure, though as they weren't dolphins Ethan was not particularly impressed.
It was just a 2 minute drive to the Peabody hotel at the southern end of international drive where we would stay until the big day tomorrow (Ethans birthday and a visit to Disneys' Magic Kingdom) When we got up the next morning we had a few birthday presents for Ethan to open so Sarah and I went next door to their room and joined the excitement.
I think one of the very best parts of this holiday occurred when we went downstairs for breakfast, during a conversation with the waitress Hayley mentioned Ethans' birthday, the waitress asked his name and then went about her business. When we had finished breakfast a parade of waiting staff approached with a cupcake bearing a candle and sung happy birthday to Ethan before everyone (including other diners) cheered and clapped at the end of the song ....... it was lovely and started the day perfectly again.
Then it was time for the main event, we were all excited to be heading to Disney World Resort and more specifically Magic Kingdom.
because of the success of the park the car has to be parked some distance away from the entrance. A tractor ride takes us to a dock where we are free to choose to take the monorail or a ferry over to the park entrance, we opt for the ferry after seeing the queue for the monorail, we decided we'll take that on the return journey. The ferry journey was nice and does allow a 'build up' of excitement as you see the park and that world famous castle in the distance.
It's fair to say we were all really looking forward to the day.
Once we made the dock at the far side we bought tickets and entered in a very smooth process given the incredible number of people who were pouring in from both the ferries and the monorail.
Our first stop was in front of the castle where a show was on which included all of the main Disney characters. The look on Ethans' face was absolutely priceless, the show was a pretty good one but the viewing arrangements were far from good, though Ethan had the best seat in the house.
It would be fair to say we were all a little disappointed with Disney (not Ethan, just us adults) The crowds were stifling at times and packed in to some areas so tight that you literally couldn't move, but worst of all was the real lack of things for Ethan to do, things he could actually ride on or walk through etc. Though we did find the Magic Carpet ride.....
Trying to find a place to eat was also a disappointment with nowhere able to seat us and Ethan except one place where Mark and I slid in and grabbed a table and high chair only to find there was no food for Ethan in there.....which begs the question whey the hell do they have high chairs! We eventually found a place to grab the usual chicken nuggets and fries and we sat on a wall outside eating lunch.
After lunch we tracked down the hiding place of the main characters and headed there to get photos for little Ethan, the queues were not too bad (being about 30 minutes) then you got photos with two characters before another 30 minutes for the other two, but still we hadn't made the Mickey Mouse line yet and were a little concerned about the potential wait time there.
Obviously before we left we had just one more thing to do, find Mickey. Hayley tracked him down to a building back near the entrance to the park, we made our way through the heaving mass of people back across the park. As we approached, the sign said 45 minutes wait for Mickey, not chronic but a long time for a tired little boy in a mass of people. Mark then started talking about a 'fast pass' and told us to wait while he went off to find out about it, when he came back he had 5 passes (free) from a machine he had found....seemed a bit too good to be true but we walked in to the fast pass area and found we were the very next in line, as we waited Ethan was so excited, he kept telling us Mickey was just behind the door, over and over again; he said it as if trying to convince himself......in less than 5 minutes we were allowed in for our private audience with Mickey Mouse and a quick picture before being ushered out again. I have to say that fast pass made the difference between a really nice day out and a 'bit of a pain in the butt queuing' day out. Driving back to the beach house I was really glad Ethan got to see Disney World and so happy that I was able to see it with him, but it is certainly not a place I'll return too.....Sea World on the other hand is one I would visit once a month.
The next day was our only rainy day of the holiday (it only rained a little but was overcast all day) we returned to the shopping mall at Daytona where I found a lovely necklace for Sarah, when we got back to the beach house Mark insisted he was going in the sea. There's little fun in body boarding on your own so I couldn't let my boy go out there alone, I changed in to the swimming gear and headed out with him as Sarah snapped a few shots from the comfort of the dining room. It was actually pretty warm and we stayed in the sea about an hour with some very odd looks coming from people walking along the beach in overcoats and hoods.
Then all of a sudden it was Saturday morning, two weeks had passed and we had to vacate the place and fly home, but not before Ethan had chased a few lizards around the decking whilst dressed as a pirate, and of course we had a last splash around in the sea. This was a lovely holiday, so much beach time relaxing and so little stress that we all said we would gladly do it again....but without the Disney bit next time.